AG Wilson part of coalition of 20 Attorneys General urging President to support the National Child ID Act

(COLUMBIA, S.C.)  – August 28, 2020 - South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson is part of a coalition of 20 Attorneys General asking President Donald J. Trump to make funding available to support The National Child ID Act (The National Child ID Program). The Act would help both parents and law enforcement better protect children from exploitation, abduction and human trafficking.

This legislation would enable each state, through their Attorney General, to have the opportunity to request grant funding to purchase kits for their Kindergarten through 6th grade children. Each kit costs $1.76 per child, an incredibly small amount for the life of a child who has been abducted or has run away. The cost for protecting approximately 30 million K-6 students across America is just below $52 million.

“Through our Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and our Human Trafficking Task Force, protecting children has always been one of my top priorities,” Attorney General Wilson said. “The National Child ID Act is an important tool that we desperately need to better protect our children and give parents peace of mind.”

From the letter:

“Statistics show that more than 800,000 children go missing each year including runaways and those abducted. That is one child gone every 40 seconds. And we are seeing those statistics rise along with child sexual abuse, exploitation and human trafficking.”

The letter to President Trump continues, “You recently met with our friend and NFL Hall of Fame Player Mike Singletary to discuss a program he and many other Collegiate and NFL Coaches champion called the National Child ID Program. We also support this effort as we fight daily to protect children in our role as state Attorneys General.”

The Child ID Kit allows parents to collect specific information by easily recording the physical characteristics, fingerprints and DNA of their child on identification cards that are then kept at home by the parent or guardian. No outside group collects, monitors or has access to the data unless parents choose to share it during an emergency. If ever needed, the Child ID Kit will give authorities vital information to assist their efforts to locate a missing child.

The National Child ID Program has asked Congress for monies to be set aside in the next stimulus package as a grant for the purchase of such kits. And while legislation is ultimately needed, it may well take months or longer until funds are available. In the meantime, COVID-19 has made children more vulnerable to being groomed and exploited by predators. The threat of our kids becoming victims is more immediate and grave than ever. Every time we receive an Amber Alert for a missing one-year-old, it illustrates the critical need for this program.

Attorney General Wilson is joined by Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes, who led the letter, and the Attorneys General in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and West Virginia.

A copy of the letter can be viewed here.